Meet the candidates running for CCSD school board in District A

Emily Stevens and Karl Catarata face off for the School Board district representing Henderson, Boulder City, Searchlight, and Laughlin.

Four of the seven elected Clark County School Board of Trustees seats are up for grabs this election.

Voters can only vote for the candidates running to represent the district they live in. District A includes Henderson, Boulder City, Searchlight, and Laughlin, meaning voters who reside within the district vote for who they want to represent them in the school board. Check out the district boundaries map to find your trustee district.

The nonpartisan seats are elected to four-year terms on a staggered basis. The board oversees the district’s nearly 300,000 students and roughly 31,000 employees, and hires and manages the district’s superintendent. The School Board is also in charge of approving the district’s budget — which was recently found to have a potential $20 million shortfall. 

Trustee Lisa Guzmán, a former teacher, currently represents District A, but is not seeking reelection. 

Candidates Emily Stevens and Karl Catarata came out on top in the June primary, with Stevens receiving 25.7% of the vote and Catarata receiving 24.8% of the vote among five candidates. 

Stevens is a mom of two teenagers who currently attend schools in CCSD. She works in business development for SCE Credit Union and serves on academic boards at Clark and Mission high schools, as well as the advisory committee for Communities in Schools, a nonprofit focused on dropout prevention. 

On her campaign website, Stevens states her priorities are “school safety, the teacher shortage, student attendance, increased focus on math, english, and science, workforce education/training, and community collaboration.” ​

Stevens is endorsed by both teachers unions, the Nevada State Education Association and the Clark County Education Association, as well as the southern Nevada chapter for the National Education Association and the Vegas Chamber.

Catarata ran for Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents in 2022, but did not make it past the primary. He studied political science at the UNLV and has served as co-chair of the Las Vegas Human Rights Campaign Steering Committee.

His campaign website states he will focus on “school safety and keeping classrooms safe, academic achievement and student success, and supporting educators and teacher retention.” 

In June, Catarata’s campaign drew scrutiny for sending out texts to voters with language pandering to conservatives, stating that he is “up against the woke radical left, and I’m counting on true Republicans like you to have my back.” In a response on social media, Catarata explained the text was part of a get out the vote effort and that the “overzealous language” was sent by a vendor without his approval. He also said he stopped working with that vendor. 

According to his LinkedIn, Catarata has previously worked for Clark County, the City of Las Vegas, and several nonprofits. He is endorsed by Make the Road Nevada Action, the Culinary Union, and Silver State Equality. 

Both Catarata and Stevens support school choice in some way. 

Catarata has said in interviews that he “agrees that children should be able to go to a school outside of their neighborhood,” but does not support school vouchers for private schools. 

Stevens, meanwhile, has expressed support for Gov. Joe Lombardo’s efforts to expand the state’s private school voucher program, known as Opportunity Scholarships. She has also benefited from school choice programs herself, as her sons attend an out-of-zone school because of a JROTC program.